Thursday, October 11, 2012

I am so excited to be reviewing Natalia's first book. Natalia is a beloved friend, renowned quilter and talented author. Beginner's Guide to Free-Motion Quilting is a realistic approach to entering the world of machine quilting, complete with meticulous detail and well-crafted diagrams. For those wondering about machine quilting, this is a must have.

If you have ever shied away from quilting on your own (who hasn't), this book is the right tool to give you the confidence to free-motion quilt from on home machine. The book starts with the basics, thread selection, required tools to free-motion quilt on your home machine and assembling your quilt.

Once you are prepared to begin the quilting process, Natalia takes you from simple to ornate. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

Natalia has deemed quilting a family affair and I couldn't agree more. My journey as a crafter started early. I grew up living in the country with little to do and not much TV to watch. My granny taught me to crochet the chain stitch at Christmas when I was five years old. I would sew skeins and skeins of thread in just the chain stitch. When I was seven she taught me to do the single crochet and by 10 years old I was reading patterns, making afghans, stockings and booties for anyone that would let me. I took a sewing class in middle school but didn't get the hang of it quick enough. I was finally able to muster the patience to embrace quilting at 25 and have been hooked since.

Quilting is a family affair both off and online. The rich online community of crafters and quilters inspires my business and has sparked friendships across the country and the world. This industry is a unique one and I'm so glad that Fat Quarter Shop is a part of it.

Be sure to follow along with the rest of the tour for more fun. There will be a giveaway on each stop, so don't miss out!

As for our giveaway, one of you lucky Jolly Jabber readers will be winning a copy of Beginner's Guide to Free-Motion Quilting! Comment below letting us know if you are itching to try free-motion quilting on your home machine. Giveaway will close 10/17 and the winner will be announced here on 10/18. Good luck!

I am looking forward to reading through this book.I would like to become better at FMQ on my home machine. I have done simple things like straight line and meandering.Now it is time to move on to more.

I have only been quilting for a few months and I love it. I have done stitch in the ditch using a walking foot and now have mastered the stipple well enough to take the plunge. It's not perfect but you have to dive in at some point. I now need to try other stitches and this book sounds wonderful. I bought the darning foot and walking foot for my tiny domestic machine and it is perfectly possible to do small pieces. The larger ones will present a bigger challenge.

One of these days I really want to learn how to machine quilt on my home machine. I am spoiled for longarm quilting as one of my sisters does it for me. Wishing all a great day and Congrats to the winner.

Oh I want to learn to FMQ so bad. I played around a little bit one time and was scared to death. I don't know why it freaks me out. I guess I am just to scared to mess up my whole quilt that took so long to get togehter. Thanks so much for the give away hope I am the lucky one!

I am another FMQ phobic and I would desperately love the confidence to have a go on my home machine. My main worry is that I would mess up the tension and not be able to get it back again. I really need to take the plunge on this!

Yes, I am itching to try FMQ. I even got the FMQ foot for my birthday a few months back. Other than making some practice sandwiches, I really don't know where to start. This book looks like a good place to begin.

It is such an intimidating thing to risk messing up all the hard work that went into piecing a quilt with just a few errant stitches from the machine. I'm ready to approach the quilting part of quilting with more confidence! Thanks for the giveaway!

I would love to learn free-motion quilting. I've thought about it but always felt that I wouldn't be able to do a decent job. It sounds like Natalia's book is just what I need to give me the confidence to try.wlinda_ca@yahoo.com

I just got a new simple machine, and it dawned on the the button on the back was to lower the feed-dogs which meant I could QUILT! So I hopped over to my local shop and took a class and now I'm SUPER excited about Free Motion quilting-it's SOO FUN!!I am excited about this book!!

I absolutely need this book ~ I have been SO intimidated by quilting on my own machine. I've tried classes, had friends try and show me ... perhaps this book will help. I know I can do it ... I just need more confidence and some tricks!

I'd love to learn to do free motion quilting. I've completed lots of quilt tops but have to send them to someone else to be quilted -- it's getting really expensive!! Would love to win the book. Thanks for the opportunity.

YES I am itching to try free motion quilting on my sewing machine I got last Christmas. I have always hand quilted and thought it would be easier to do on the machine. Haha! I realized after doing some research it is going to be a task but I still want to learn so I Can do my third child's quilt on my machine!

Ooh, pick me, pick me. i do some quilting already with my walking foot, but I'd love to be able to do free-motion quilting. This looks like an essential first step . . . my 3rd try at the "Please prove you're not a robot" thing. UHHH.

I have been wanting to start FMQ for well over a year now, but simply don't know where to start. This book would be a God send as it would help me take my quilting to the next level!Thank you for the giveaway.

Just last year I finally bought a machine where I could drop the feed dogs so I have been trying quite a bit of free motion quilting. But, I'm getting tired of just stippling and would like to try some new designs. This book I"m sure is just full of ideas and inspirations!

I, too, learned to crochet from my grandmother when I was 5! And I have just gotten brave enough to start learning free-motion quilting. I've done a few small projects with stippling but haven't tried anything like a particular design. I'd love to win this book so I could learn more!

My goal for this winter is to teach myself how to FMQ. I have tried a little with out much success but I have read a lot of blogs that give me some clues on what to change so I have a plan for when it is too cold to be outside.

I tried FMQ years ago and became so frustrated with it as a new quilter. I've slowly been collecting the right "equipment" to make it easier and am looking forward to trying again. I would LOVE to have the help of this book to guide me! Thanks for the opportunity!

Hi Natalia, I've been quilting for over 18 yrs and taught myself to free-motion quilting on my trusty Janome machine. I was lucky at the time that the feed-dogs dropped. lol Anyway, I've taught myself how to stipple, meander and quilt in the ditch. I would love to learn to do feathers and learn how to use fillers to fill in the empty spots. I've just not come across the right book or tutorial UNTIL I was reading about your book "Beginner's Guide to Free-Motion Quilting" and right underneath that on the Jolly Jabbers blog I saw 3 photos of 9 patch blocks and they were quilted with a feather motif leaving the center block of the nine patch unquilted!! It's like DUH why couldn't I have thought of that? But then again I've been terrified of feathers! lol Anyway I'll quit babbling and pray I win your book and if I don't I hope it goes to someone that really needs it. Thank you for such a great give away! God Bless, Maria Carroll